Ac A... Where is the readme file for the data you linked? I cannot locate it.

Thanks. Yeah, I did do an analysis for myself a few years ago showing the arctic reduction was, I think, about 3X the antarctic increase. I know tamino did a more complete analysis around then as well. But it just seems like such a mushed together stat with a gigantic and quite complex seasonal component clouding everything. Incidentally, and I hope not far off topic, there is a very large iceberg sitting not too far from me in northern Trinity Bay. Too early to be this season's berg. Must have been a trailer from last season just ahead of the freezeup to the north. Have sailed that area in summer...very exposed to the North Atlantic and lots of rocks, but very beautiful. The berg may come by/near my house in St. John's in a week or so. Hope to get my own pics. Picture here: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CZmLe9sUkAAleGx.jpg

Very interesting. That said, what exactly does GLOBAL ice area really get at in climate terms given the huge differences between the poles? What may be properly inferred? Except for the fact that I live in and maintain a sailboat in waters with lots of ice and icebergs in season and am personally very interested, this variable is so far from any actual expertise I have that I am completely ignorant. Haven't seen any peer reviewed work on this point either. Looking at scholar.google.com, what I can find is focused on paleontological global ice volume not contemporary global ice area.

So...we can look forward to a plethora of "the Arctic ice recovery strenghthens" articles in denier blogs all fall/winter? Oh joy.

Re. Newfoundland and snow, you need to be aware of regions. Out here in St. John's on the eastern edge, most of the lows until very recently tracked to the west of us and we got lots of rain. The last 6 weeks we are picking up some snow, but I have shoveled a total of three times this season. Corner Brook on the other hand...well let's just say Marble Mountain is enjoying a pretty darn good ski season! Some parts of Labrador are getting a lot of snow, but other parts have been too cold. for giant snows. There is a lot of ice in the Straits of Belle Isle and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Heavy pressure too. The ferries are having a very difficult time and fresh-type food is actally pretty low on the grocery shelves. Here, the ice pack was down for a bit, but sourtherly winds have driven it back north and I can see none from any point on the eastern part of the Avalon peninsula.